Come see for yourself
You can catch Al Horford on Twitter anytime and at the Hawks' free public practice Saturday at Philips Arena.
HAWKSVILLE – For you Hawks fans fortunate enough to call the 13th colony home, Saturday is your day.
“Your” team is holding an open practice (free to the public) at Philips Arena from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. that will allow you to see for yourself all the things you’ve read and chatted about around here lately.
If you want to see just how unbelievably humongous rookie behemoth Garret Siler is, this is your chance.
Maybe you’ve always wondered what that tattoo on Josh Smith’s left forearm said, well this might be your chance to find out.
If you want to see if Joe Johnson uses the perfect form on his jumper, you can see it for free Saturday morning on the main floor.
Or maybe you just want to size up guys like Randolph Morris and Joe Smith to see if they have the bulk needed to help improve the Hawks’ frontcourt depth. Do it Saturday.
If Mike Woodson is the object of your affection (or something else, ha), now is your time to see him for yourself. Tell him all the stuff you write about him here, if you feel the urge (watch this team work in person and you might get a different feel for them and for the coach, or not).
ONE LAST TIME, Saturday, Oct. 10, from 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. the Hawks will take the floor at Philips for a practice that is open to the public and free for any and all that wish to attend.
I guarantee you it will make our debates around here more spirited, at least for next few days. Because once you see this stuff for yourself, you won’t have to just take my word(s) for what transpired. You’ll have seen it with your own eyes and come to your own informed opinion about what is what.
ANOTHER TWITTER UPDATE
There’s another new Hawks’ neighbor on Twitter these days. Al Horford has officially joined the 140-character revolution and can be found on the network with a swift click. The Big Gator is witty and is sure to keep you informed on all things Hawks from an insider’s perspective. I see him daily but I’m still reading his tweets every chance I get just to see what I might have missed.
BREAKFAST WITH THE HAWKS?
From our friends at Truehoop we have breakfast with the Hawks, a nekit-chested Josh Smith in particular.
There goes lunch!
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
240 comments Add your comment
Bigg Nuttz
October 10th, 2009
12:31 am
Why are we discussing race and what is and not a black city?Funny. This began with the same guy who said we should keep Zaza because he is white. Why is this a race discussion?
Is the Bubba crew behind this. For the record Georgia is a red (neck) state and AJC is a red news paper. Now, how about them hawks. Good news on the free hawks scrimmage. How cool is that?
Ken Strickland
October 10th, 2009
12:59 am
NIREMETAL-I knew you were referencing me, and thanks, it’s good to be back in the fold. I’m predicting we’ll unseat Orlando as the 3rd seed. On paper, Orlando appears to a lot of people to be much better than we are, but that’s deceiving. I recall last yr when a lot of people thought Philly would be much better than we were after acquiring EBrand. They looked good on paper, but reality told a much different story. With so many changes and additions to their team, particularly their starting lineup, they could easily end up with a simular situation as Philly.
Hawks Fan In New Orleans
October 10th, 2009
2:45 am
To all those attending, have fun at the open practice! I miss the little things about Atlanta, like a nice trout sandwich (yessir J Smoove) and a tall glass of lemonade on a Sunday afternoon…If Teague could emulate Rondo I’m good.
Fritz
October 10th, 2009
9:54 am
Ebony survey says Atlanta is best:http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_n11_v52/ai_19762575/?tag=rbxcra.2.a.33
Sekou Smith
October 10th, 2009
10:31 am
Headed down to the open practice in a few minutes. Hawks need to put on a good show so I can get out of there in time to catch the Smyrna Spartans in action from the opening kickoff and then finish off the night with an upset in Iowa City.
But for those of you that make it out, let’s meet back here later tonight to digest and discuss what we saw at the open practice. I’m interested to read your takes on what you saw.
Lou Dobbs
October 10th, 2009
12:07 pm
Hawksta, I love talking about race, I do it all the time on CNN, I do my best to blame things on mexicans.
God bless America.
ufø
October 10th, 2009
12:16 pm
Lou you are nuts.
ufø
October 10th, 2009
12:33 pm
……….
jerrywest
October 10th, 2009
1:31 pm
Why didn’t Mario West become a football player? He had all the tools to be great.
ILL-logical
October 10th, 2009
2:46 pm
Just returned from the scrimmage and had a few observations that I’d like to share:
1. The team overall is much more cohesive and the defensive effort was very good. Guys were really getting after one another.
2.Jamal,Joe Smith, Silo and Jason Collins did not play. They were were one of the main reasons that I gave up half of my saturday to journey to Phillips arena.No explanation was given or at least I didn’t here of any.Coutney Sims may have survived the first cut today.
3. Josh looked great for 3/4 of the scrimmage with a dazzling array of offensive moves, defensive pressure, rebounding and with several assists. Then in the last 5 minutes he just started jacking up shot after shot; the first three barely rimmed out but the others were 3 pointer that made no sense. Good thing it was just practice though. He was clearly the best player on the floor though.
4. Teague looked very ordinary. He played with the reserves and the starters but it didn’t make any difference. He has an upside but it will be awhile before he can be dubbed a rising star.
There was a pretty good crowd and the seemed to have enjoyed the session.
ufø
October 10th, 2009
2:49 pm
Mario should get his own tv show.
ufø
October 10th, 2009
2:58 pm
ILL-logical
So Jeff Teague is just another Acie Law not a rondo.
ufø
October 10th, 2009
3:02 pm
…..
ufø
October 10th, 2009
3:07 pm
……………………
Hawks Fan In New Orleans
October 10th, 2009
3:29 pm
ufø
I sure hope not.
ILL-logical
Woody said Jamal won’t play until Wednesday, precautionary measures.
ufø
October 10th, 2009
3:35 pm
Enter your comments here
Hawks Fan In New Orleans
October 10th, 2009
3:58 pm
Dayum – go Vols!
Samuel
October 10th, 2009
4:41 pm
I made it down today.
Courtney Sims made a god case for keeping him today. He was very active on both ends of the floor and finishes good around the basket. He has good length and good hands. He needs to work on his post defense some but overall he did good.
Teague looked very confident and has an all-around good game. I don’t know that he’ll be much better than Bibby on defense but he’s a much better all around PG than Acie. I wouldn’t hesitate to play him at all.
Hunter started out pretty good but was overshadowed by Sims. He is kinda small for a PF and not skilled enough for a SF. Kinda hard to choose between he and Sims but after today, Sims has a slight edge in my opinion.
Mario did his usual thing. Not much more to say here. I still think he would be a wasted roster spot but looks like he’s here to stay.
I was very disappointed that 4 or 5 guys sat out. Collins looks lazy as hell. Siler looked constipated or something. Joe Smith looked fine. I guess he’s just “old” and they want to save him. LOL!!
Horford looked very aggressive going to the hoop. I really wish this guy could play more PF.
Josh played an all around good game. I’m not sure he has improved much mentally though. He’s still immature. Arguing about petty stuff with Horford. His competitiveness makes up for it though. He was our best player today.
JJ looks like his old self. Not sure much will change with him. Hopefully he can get more rest this year and be stronger.
Bibby can still shoot the “rock”. There’s no way you can not have a guy like that on the floor.
Samuel
October 10th, 2009
4:44 pm
Hey,
Any body else want in to the Fantasy league. We have 10 teams now but I can expand it if we have more who want to get in. Let me know.
bravos11
October 10th, 2009
5:01 pm
Samuel- I will join the league if there are spots left
Samuel
October 10th, 2009
5:35 pm
I’ll add more spots and let you know.
Samuel
October 10th, 2009
5:43 pm
There are 6 more open spots
League name:
SekousBloggers
ID: 213814
Password: hawks
http://basketball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/nba/213814
bravos11
October 10th, 2009
6:18 pm
Ok Thanks
hawks_4_life
October 10th, 2009
6:25 pm
Sekou are you going to join the league
niremetal
October 10th, 2009
6:35 pm
Something tells me no
Samuel
October 10th, 2009
7:29 pm
Scared
Samuel
October 10th, 2009
7:45 pm
12 teams. 4 more slots.
hawks_4_life
October 10th, 2009
7:48 pm
oh and by the way army troopers is a lock for the win
hawks_4_life
October 10th, 2009
7:51 pm
Hey guy im on vacation from the desert and I just want to say I enjoy reading this blog on a daily basis. Even though I dont write often this daily banter gives me motivation and raises my spirits. Keep up the good work Sekou and friends!!!
Samuel
October 10th, 2009
7:53 pm
Pretty interesting Survey by GMs of the best off season moves
http://www.nba.com/news/features/gmsurvey.moves/index.html
HUUUUMMMMM!!!
Samuel
October 10th, 2009
7:55 pm
hawks_4_life,
I know a little something about the desert. Ever heard of a “hellhole” call NTC? I spent 5 long years there.
Najeh Davenpoop
October 10th, 2009
7:59 pm
Wait. there are going to be 16 teams in that league? Someone’s going to be starting Joe Smith at power forward…
hawks_4_life
October 10th, 2009
8:05 pm
Samuel
5yrs is a long long time, did you like it?
Najeh Davenpoop
October 10th, 2009
8:05 pm
Seriously, Samuel, I have made the mistake of running a 16-team league with regular rosters before. What typically happens is that the four worst teams are so bad that they stop updating almost immediately and even among the remaining 12 teams at least 7 or 8 have no chance of winning anything. I would at least get rid of the G, F, and one of the C positions.
Najeh Davenpoop
October 10th, 2009
8:08 pm
As for the scrimmage, if Sims played and Siler didn’t this tells me things don’t look so hot for Siler to make the team, unless he was injured. In any case, I hope all the reserve big men — veterans and rookies both — get plenty of playing time during the preseason so that they can prove to Woody they are deserving of minutes. I am looking forward to seeing a team that doesn’t get beat up inside due to lack of depth all year.
In unrelated news, Killer Mike’s “Underground Atlanta” mixtape is off the chain. Anyone who likes southern rap should go cop that sh*t ASAP.
ufø
October 10th, 2009
8:55 pm
Acie will play on TNT tonight if anyone cares.
ufø
October 10th, 2009
9:03 pm
does anyone care about Acie or speedy?
hawks_4_life
October 10th, 2009
10:04 pm
no not really
Melvin
October 10th, 2009
10:27 pm
Watching the GS/Suns game. Stephen Curry is not a pg. Not sure if the Curry/Ellis backcourt is going to be successful. They may have to package one of those guys. Acie may get a opportunity before the season over (even though he’s been playing well in preseason) b/c Ellis nor Curry is a true PG.
Jody
October 10th, 2009
10:52 pm
Watching the GS/Suns game and I’m wondering why didn’t the Hawks go after Channing Frye? He would have been perfect to play alongside Josh and Al in a big lineup.
Melvin
October 10th, 2009
11:00 pm
Jody, Agreed. Check the blogs from early this summer, i was campigning for Frye to come to the ATL…
Jody
October 10th, 2009
11:21 pm
Melvin,
I think I remember that and though I didn’t post much, I agreed with you. It baffles me how the Hawks missed on a guy who would fit their style so well and at the same time give them the option of putting a lineup on the floor where Al Horford’s size would actually become a factor. Last season, I thought the best game Al Horfords had came against Chicago when he started and played the majority of the game at power forward.
Jody
October 10th, 2009
11:28 pm
In fact, Horford’s line from that game was 27 points, 17 rebounds and 6 blocks. Again, Horford’s size becomes a factor when he plays the four.
niremetal
October 10th, 2009
11:48 pm
And you think Channing Frye had any interest in signing with the Hawks because…
niremetal
October 10th, 2009
11:52 pm
Also, I’d MUCH rather have Horford/Josh/Marvin than Frye/Horford/Josh. Frye is just 1 inch taller than Al but has neither Al’s strength nor Al’s toughness.
And when will people get it out of their head that Josh is an SF? Again, he spent no time at SF last year, even when Marvin was hurt. Teams leave him wide open on the perimeter for a reason, and his on-ball perimeter D is mediocre.
MsDee
October 10th, 2009
11:57 pm
Based on the scrimmage, I think Hunter & Sims should may the team!!
MsDee
October 10th, 2009
11:57 pm
Should MAKE the team
Big Ray
October 11th, 2009
12:00 am
Smyrna rocks.
Smyrna has Glock, Inc. Been there, trained there, got my armorer’s certification there.
Smyrna rocks just because of that.
Big Ray
October 11th, 2009
12:05 am
Josh is a combo forward. His jumper may be suspect, but last I looked, a jumpshot wasn’t what made you a small forward or didn’t make you a small forward.
And there’s a reason why he didn’t spend much time at the 3 (though he did spend SOME time there, just not as a starter).
It’s because nobody outside of Al Horford, was nearly as good a power forward as Josh. That includes Marvin, who although a better perimeter defender than Josh, is well behind him when defending down low, or providing help defense.
Melvin
October 11th, 2009
12:05 am
Jody,
I think Frye could have done big things in the ATL. For 2mil/yr, Phx got a steal.
Either Steph Curry gonna have to learn another move or start coming off screens like his daddy b/c once teams see that he’s a right hand player that like to drive left they are going to force him to his right…